The Brand

Black Dog is known by professional growers as one of the top brands on the market. Only a few brands can pretend to match the power and quality of light offered by these LED grow lights. Very frequently, when discussing best products in the industry with people who have been growing for years, the Black Dog name comes up. They are often criticized for their high prices, especially lately (with more and more new asian brands offering powerful lights at low prices), but Black Dog fans consider that the reliability of their products make up for the high price tag. Many growers have been using the same Black Dog lights for years and still achieve today better yields than with other newer, lower range lights. The power efficiency is also difficult to beat and for professionals growers, the energy savings that the light will bring will balance the high purchase cost on the long-term.

Black Dog LED Review – PhytoMAX-2

PhytoMAX-2 is Black Dog latest product line and it is available in various power settings (200W, 400W, 600W, 800W, 1000W). We managed to get our hands on the 200W and 600W models and it might just be the best LED grow lights we tried this year. The brand also just dropped their prices on their latest model, the PhytoMAX-2. So we thought it could be a great opportunity to see if the product quality is worth the price.

Black Dog LEDs are all made in America and offer a consistent high-quality product. It comes with a serious warranty if any issue arises. Their colors and spectrum technologies are the result of years of research and the yields that these lights can bring are simply incredible. We do not often have such a positive impression but it really seems the only problem with their products is really the price. Only serious operations will justify such a high entry cost.

Lastly, don’t forget that power is only one of the factors to consider when purchasing a LED grow light. When comparing grow lighting options there is a lot of information provided that simply does not cover the important characteristics of the equipment. For example, light “watts”: the watts of a light is a measurement of the power consumed. So it does not tell you anything about the quality of the light delivered. However, Watts can be important for determining your future electric bill, your thermal signature and for comparing the relative size of the light. But not for the quality of the lighting delivered. Hence, the two key measurements that matter in comparing the quality of the light delivered are the spectrum that the light includes (ie, the colors the light creates).

LARGE FOOTPRINT. Up to 5′ X 5′ (25 square feet!) of flowering footprint coverage! Also proven by independent spectroradiometer testing.

UNIQUE PHYTO-GENESIS SPECTRUM. Simply the most efficient spectrum for growing plants. Based on over 6 years of research and testing. Outperforming HPS, MH, CMH (LEC), induction, fluorescent, and “white”, so-called “full-spectrum” LEDs in equal wattage tests.

At 630 actual watts and 961 μMol/s total photon flux, the patent-pending PhytoMAX-2 600 LED lights for growing will outperform any single-ended 1000W HPS light. With PhytoMAX-2, Black Dog has delivered one of the most powerful and reliable, truly full-spectrum (365-750nm, UV to NIR) LED plant grow light! The PhytoMAX-2 600 uses only the highest-quality, latest-technology, top-bin LEDs to deliver Black Dog LED’s proprietary full-cycle Phyto-Genesis Spectrum evenly over the entire footprint, with unprecedented PAR levels, canopy penetration and yields!

OUR VERDICT

Pros :

Firstly, Black Dog is years ahead of most other brands in the industry and if you are able to afford one of their PhytoMAX, you probably won’t believe the yields you will obtain with this light. Over a few years, the high price tag is repayed by energy savings and yields gains,

Higher efficiency than most LED grow lights also means brighter and higher quality spectrum in a compact and energy saving product,

Even though the prices remain high, they just dropped them on their PhytoMAX range,

Lastly, the 5-year warranty is one of the longest on the market.

Cons :

Probably one of the most expensive brands out there, if you are not sure you will use your grow light on the long-term, do not make the investment.

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We provide comprehensive and independent reviews to help you find the best LED Grow Lights in 2018. You will also find tests and articles to help you through the growing process. Make sure to check our top-rated best LED grow lights for 2018 and our latest reviews.